DON’T MISS THIS:POET KWAME DAWES READS IN CHICAGO ON JAN. 10 A few years back, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the wonderful poet Kwame Dawes when I was invited to read at the Calabash Festival in Jamaica. Kwame is co-founder of Calabash along with the author Colin Channer. Ghanaian by birth and reared in Jamaica, Dawes, who is a professor at the University of South Carolina, is one of my favorite poets. A marvel. And to hear him... Read more

Apocalypse now? It was 67 degrees today.There are thunderstorms and tornadoes touching down.In JANUARY. In frickin’ CHICAGO! Meteorological oddities aside, this little item from Reuters earlier today has got me losing my religion and wondering whether the end is nigh: It’s the end of the world as we know it, just like the R.E.M. song goes. The band’s singer, Michael Stipe, says he finds philosophical foe Mike Huckabee “charming” and “funny.” Apart from their southern roots and musical acumen, the... Read more

Swift-boating the (Latter-Day) Saint So that wacky press release from yesterday, announcing a press conference in DC this afternoon to announce a new boat that would “swift-boat a candidate’s religion” turned out to be another jab at Mitt Romney’s Mormonism. Feh. (Golf claps.) The teeny-tiny publisher of the book, Revelation Press, calls it a “blockbuster.” Not so much. Here ya go: A Former TV Business Editor/Reporter and Decorated War Hero ‘Swift Boats’ Presidential Hopeful Mitt Romney — With Well-Documented Facts... Read more

Monday morning rumor-mongering:Is Hillary bowing out? Matt Drudge seems to think she very well might be. We’re skeptical. But you can read Drudge’s developing story HERE. THIS is what the Huffington Post has to say about Hillary’s slide in the polls Click HERE to read the Wall Street Journal report on a rare public moment of emotional vulnerability for Hillary this a.m. on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, and click HERE to watch the powerful video of her comments... Read more

What’s this all about? ‘Swift-boating’ a candidate’s religion? We just received a curious email announcing a media briefing tomorrow at the National Press Club about a new book set to, and I’m quoting here, “swift-boat” a presidential candidate’s religious identity. Hmmm. For the record (once more with feeling): BARACK OBAMA IS A CHRISTIAN. BARACK OBAMA IS NOT A MUSLIM. Even if his middle name is Hussein. Even if his father and step-father were nominally Muslim. Even if he spent a... Read more

SALE SALE SALE: 20 % OFF GOD GIRL’S “SIN BOLDLY” T-SHIRTS AT ZAZZLE THRU MONDAY 1/7 Each printed on EDUN fair-trade t-shirts, in black, white or natural.Two designs — Angel wings ($24.76) and the Labyrinth ($22.76). In men’s and women’s sizes XS-2XL Read more

GODSTUFF GETTING EVEN WILL GET US NOWHERE My still-fresh memories of Kenya, where I spent a couple of weeks in October, are not of the sociopolitical tensions, violence and chaos that I’ve watched explode in images on television and online this week. What I remember most vividly are the people I met and befriended (hopefully for life) — men, women and children who changed the way I see the world, the way I perceive myself. I recall their hospitality, humor... Read more

‘THEY SAID THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME’:OBAMA’S VICTORY SPEECH IN IOWA TRANSCRIPT OF HIS SPEECH: Thank you, Iowa. You know, they said this day would never come. They said our sights were set too high. They said this country was too divided, too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose. But on this January night, at this defining moment in history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn’t do. You have done what the state of... Read more

KVELLLING: THIRTY-EIGHT PERCENT. Yay, Iowa!Next stop: N’Hampsha. Arianna put it so very well in her post on the Huffington Post tonite that I just had to share it in its eloquent entirety: Even if your candidate didn’t win tonight, you have reason to celebrate. We all do. Barack Obama’s stirring victory in Iowa — down home, folksy, farm-fed, Midwestern, and 92 percent white Iowa — says a lot about America, and also about the current mindset of the American voter.... Read more

OBAMARAMA! Can you dig it? Obama wins Democratic caucus Election returns (via Chicago Sun-Times) Obama wins convincing victory in Iowa In call, Clinton concedes to Obama Obama camp credits youth turnout Obama win shows he’s a strong contender Live from Des Moines, it’s caucus night! For some Kenyan villagers, the action is in Des Moines Arianna Huffington: Obama wins in Iowa – Why everyone has a reason to celebrate tonight For God Girl’s previous interviews/profiles of Barack, click HERE (2004)... Read more